IT Growth Outlook Hits Record High Led by Surge in Expected Investments

• Anticipated hardware and software spending grew to record levels in both the public and private sectors. Overall anticipated hardware spend increased four percentage points to 80 percent, while overall anticipated software spending jumped seven percentage points to 82 percent.
• Projected IT spending within professional services grew at a faster rate than any other industry surveyed. IT decision-makers within the professional services industry reported a 10 percentage point increase in anticipated IT budget, a 14 percentage point increase in hardware, a 17 percentage point increase in software and a 10 percentage point increase in solutions over the next six months.
• Seventy-six percent of IT decision-makers indicate that their companies' allow employees to use personal mobile devices for work-related tasks, however, nearly one in five (19 percent) are not using IT security measures or protocols to manage them.

Vernon Hills, Ill. – January 30, 2012 –According to the latest CDW IT Monitor, growing optimism and greater anticipation of increased IT investments among IT decision-makers has propelled the Six-Month Growth Outlook composite score to 71, jumping three points to reach its highest reading since its inception in late 2007.

While overall anticipated IT spending grew two percentage points to reach 42 percent, most sectors saw significant increases in spending optimism. The number of state and federal government IT decision-makers expecting an increase jumped 11 and 10 percentage points respectively, with local government reporting decreased anticipated IT spending, slipping five percentage points since October. Within the private sector, IT decision-makers at medium-size businesses anticipating an IT budget increase soared seven percentage points since October, while small and large-size businesses each grew one percentage point.

The survey findings also indicated that more than a third (36 percent) of IT decision-makers plan to spend on mostly new assets, up eight percentage points overall, with medium and large-size businesses seeing a 14 and eight percentage point increase, respectively. Those planning large investments climbed three percentage points overall, led by double-digit growth among decision-makers at medium-size businesses and within state government.

Despite overall anticipated IT hiring dropping two percentage points since October, IT decision-makers at medium-size businesses and within federal government are expecting hiring increases of three and two percentage points, respectively, over the next six months.

Record-High Anticipated Hardware, Software Investment Fuels Growth

Overall anticipated demand for hardware and software investments reached a record high in both public and private sectors. Anticipated hardware spending climbed four percentage points to 80 percent overall, led by significant increases among small business (nine percentage points), local government (five percentage points) and state government IT decision-makers (eight percentage points). Anticipated software spending increased seven percentage points to 82 percent, driven by 10, eight and six percentage point jumps among IT decision-makers at small, medium and large-size businesses respectively. In addition, expected software spend increased 10 percentage points among local government IT decision-makers.

"The data indicates that the IT spending outlook has reached a significant milestone. More IT decision-makers are feeling optimistic about the prospects of their IT budgets increasing, and they are anticipating significant IT investments in the next six months, especially on the hardware and software fronts," said Neal Campbell, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, CDW. "We believe that organizations will continue to look at technology investments as ways to boost efficiencies, increase productivity and gain new competitive advantages in 2012."

Expectations for IT solutions spending increased two percentage points to 45 percent, a 2011 high. This was led by a nine percentage point spike in anticipated spending from medium-size businesses, and two percentage point increases from both large-size businesses and within federal government. Of those anticipating increased solutions investment, the greatest priorities in the next six months are networking (58 percent), security (57 percent), virtualization (56 percent) and cloud computing (47 percent). Security investments quickly moved up IT decision-makers' priority lists, increasing seven percentage points since October.

IT Investments Slated to Surge in Key Industries, Led by Professional Services

Optimism over increased IT spending remained strong and steady among IT decision-makers in the healthcare, manufacturing and IT industries, while anticipated budget increases in the professional services industry jumped 10 percentage points since October. Confidence among IT decision-makers in the professional services industry translated to a jump in anticipated hardware investments (14 percentage points), software investments (17 percentage points) and in IT solutions (10 percentage points) over the next six months.

The retail industry continued to increase its investment optimism, with IT decision-makers anticipating three and nine percentage point increases in hardware and software purchases respectively since October. In addition, anticipated hardware spending in the manufacturing industry grew seven percentage points, while solutions spending in the healthcare industry is slated to increase six percentage points in the next six months.

Many Organizations Not Prepared to Manage Risks Associated with Personal Mobile Devices in the Workplace

The latest CDW IT Monitor indicates that three quarters (76 percent) of IT decision-makers report their organizations allow employees to use personal mobile devices for work-related tasks. Among IT decision-makers in the public and private sectors, security protocol implementation, employee adherence, cost and lack of IT resources top the list of challenges for integrating personal mobile devices into organizations.

Of the companies currently allowing the use of personal mobile devices for work-related tasks, one third (33 percent) said they were either not confident or only somewhat confident that their protocols and security measures are effectively managing risks. While more than half of IT decision-makers surveyed are using both IT security measures and protocols, 19 percent reported that they are not managing the new risks introduced by personal mobile devices being used within their organizations.

"While it should come as no shock that organizations are increasingly allowing their employees to use their personal mobile devices for work-related tasks, many will be surprised to find that nearly one in five organizations are not managing new security risks at all," Campbell said. "Organizations that fail to address new security risks are flirting with disaster, and could face threats ranging from business continuity disruptions to data theft."

Due to rounding, totals in the table above may not add to 100 percent.

About the CDW IT Monitor

The CDW IT Monitor was created by CDW, and research and analysis is conducted by independent polling firm Richard Day Research of Evanston, Ill. At the center of the CDW IT Monitor is the Six Month Growth Outlook, an index number, which registered an initial benchmark reading of 63 in December 2007. Results are calculated on a scale of 0-100, with 100 indicating the highest level of confidence. Future readings of the CDW IT Monitor will continue to yield comparisons to previous scores, allowing for an interpretation of the direction of sentiment in the IT marketplace.

Decision-makers are invited from two large national panels of IT decision-makers built and maintained by Research Now and Survey Sampling International. Data reported in this release are based on a survey of 1,058 IT decision-makers conducted between December 5 and December 12, 2011. Sampling is designed to reflect a broad spectrum of IT decision-makers among all sizes of companies, multiple industries, and across three levels of government. For the purposes of the CDW IT Monitor, company sizes are defined as: small (1-99 employees), medium (100-999 employees) and large (1,000 or more employees).

Data are weighted to ensure that CDW IT Monitor calculations closely represent the overall population of corporate and government employers in terms of size, based on the number of employees. Corporate data are weighted according to U.S. Economic Census data, and government data are weighted according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau's annual survey of government employment. The margin of sampling error for a survey based on this many interviews is approximately +/- 3 percentage points overall, +/-4 percentage points for the business sector, and +/-6 percentage points for government.

About CDW

CDW is a leading provider of technology solutions for business, government, education and healthcare. Ranked No. 38 on Forbes' list of America's Largest Private Companies, CDW features dedicated account managers who help customers choose the right technology products and services to meet their needs. The company's solution architects offer expertise in designing customized solutions, while its advanced technology engineers assist customers with the implementation and long-term management of those solutions. Areas of focus include software, network communications, notebooks/mobile devices, data storage, video monitors, desktops, printers and solutions such as virtualization, collaboration, security, mobility, data center optimization and cloud computing. CDW was founded in 1984 and employs more than 6,400 coworkers. For the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2011, the company generated sales of $9.2 billion. For more information, visit CDW.com.